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I think he should be aiming for a top WSB ride - get in there early while some decent seats are available - perhaps Yamaha if Corser leaves or Xaus' ride
Sadly he's not quite cut it in MotoGP despite trying 100%. On another bike than the Kawasaki who knows he might have been regular top 10 but on a bike that is clearly struggling he was always going to be up against it.
Personally, I do not know with Ant West.
It is not to say that the guy isn't talented as IMO he most definitely has talent, just that I am not convinced that he has the type of talent to be in MotoGP (if that makes sense).
He can be blindingly fast on production based machinery (WSS 2007 anyone), but appears to lack the 'ability' (may not be the right word) to setup a MotoGP bike in the manner that he needs it. This may be more a case of issues surrounding translation between what he feels, what he wants, what he needs and the technicians ability to understand and put into actions, I do not know. But IMO it is an issue that is reflecting on himself in the MotoGP arena.
Additionally I am not convinced that he is getting the necessary support at Kawasaki and feel that he would be best to look elsewhere but that he is (or at least will be) tainted by the poor performances to date (people always overlook Hopkins).
IMO, were West to go back to a production based formula (WSBK/WSS) he owuld be World Champion within 3 years as these bikes definitely appear to suit his ability and style far more that the 'touchy' MotoGP.
Garry
If he had stayed there in 2007 he may well have won the title then..
as can be seen by this below... After 3 races Ant was 5th..
Rider Standings 17/06/2007
Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 161
2, Fabien Foret, Kawasaki, FRA, 100
3, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Honda, JPN, 77
4, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 70
5, Anthony West, Yamaha, AUS, 66 http://www.docwa.com.au/phpBB2/image.../icon_wink.gif
6, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 50
7, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 47
8, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 46
9, Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, ITA, 43
10, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 40
Food for thought...
Yes I am a bit of a Westy fan.. ;)
West simply needs to keep hacking away this weekend.
pardon the pun.
Sorry Mach but I simply can't pardon that pun, it's really terrible. :)
Unfortunately this weekend really looks like the death knell to his MotoGP career (if it hasn't sounded already) where he's really up against it again. I don't think there could be a worse track to be injured at as Laguna just gives the riders no rest anywhere with no real straights to speak of. Unless some unbelievable increase of pace comes from somewhere that can see West in the top 8 regularly then probably A top WSS ride or WSB privateer ride would be his likely destination which is a shame coz I rate him as highly as Chris Vermeulen who I think is too good for those championships.
i gotta tell ya, as a fan of ant west, today i almost cried watching that race. i had such high hopes entering the season, but the results the last 2 weeks have absolutely gutted him. he is the kwack version of melandri--absolutely no confidence. 2 secs a lap slower than the wildcard rider is as low as it gets in motorsports.
let's turn our attention to planning ant's next career move, shall we?
i guess it's back to wss. hopefully he can pick himself up there and move his career forward.
Doesn't seem to know what it takes to be fast in motoGP, so he doesn't get into positions that offer the good points. And when he's gifted these positions, he messes it up. MotoGP really isn't the place to fix those errors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by T-D
I believe that he just is not a MotoGP rider and is far better suited to the production based formula. That is no slight on his riding ability which IMO allows him to ride around or through problems on the production based machines but the MotoGP bikes are far more difficult on which to ride around problems.
Basically I suspect that the MotoGP bike is affected greater by a slight change in the track/bike which woudl have a smaller effect (if indeed any) in the production based formula.
For mine, if he could get a good ride in WSBK/WSS he would do similar to what was done last year and produce spectacular results. My fear is that he will be tainted forever as a failure (unlike Melandri) and will instead find himself in lesser teams which will not be able to provide the machinery that his ability requires.
The only 'saving grace' for West may well be a low budget team in MotoGP (ie. LCR) or a testing job for an existing team/manufacturer (I suspect he may get this with Kwak)
Garry
Keep in mind he was riding with fractured vertebrae today.. That can't be easy, and once you run off track and give up a whole bunch of time, im sure the pain kicks in much more and its harder to stay focused..
Its obvious Ant is struggling big time, but the Kawasaki is hands down the worst bike on the grid this year. Ant needs to get his head together over the summer break and just go hell for leather over the second half of the season..
Otherwise, its back to WSS or maybe WSBK.. Cmon Ant, chin up!
Hopper even said that Ant's injuries were very similar to his, and he didn't race, so all credit to Ant for having a go out there.
I hope he doesn't get too dejected...we know he is a capable rider...